European Union authorities and cybersecurity experts fear suspected Iranian cyberattacks on refrigerators in stores across Europe could spread to more critical infrastructure, including hospitals and water treatment facilities, posing a broader threat to public health.
On Oct. 11 and 12, hundreds of supermarkets in France were hit by cyberattacks that authorities described as unprecedented. The attacks caused refrigerator temperatures to rise, forcing many stores to dispose of their entire stocks of perishable food.
“Important information: Our store has been the target of a cyberattack, and our refrigeration system has been affected,” a note on one empty refrigerator at a well-known grocery store in Paris read.
In early November, refrigerators at three blood banks in France were targeted in a cyberattack. The incident coincided with other attacks on major retailers in countries including Sweden and Belgium, raising concerns that the cyber threat was becoming more serious.
Iran is likely to gradually escalate cyberattacks to include sectors “where it is difficult to separate civilian harm from strategic damage, including food and health services, and potentially extending to energy, transportation and water,” Rami Khalifa Al-Ali, a professor of political science at the University of Paris, told MBN.
Europe Accuses Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that authorities confirmed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was responsible for the attacks, describing them as “an assault of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness.”
The United States designates Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
Al-Ali said French and European authorities had begun viewing Iranian actions as a threat to national security, “particularly as Iran has also resorted to disinformation campaigns that exploit protests in France.”
A report issued by France’s national cybersecurity agency indicates that hackers from two units affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, known as “Shahid Kaveh” and “Shahid Shushtari,” operated through several fronts posing as independent hacking groups.
French authorities say the Shahid Kaveh unit has carried out large-scale attacks against industrial equipment with the aim of sabotage, unlike conventional cyberattacks, which are generally intended to extort money.
Bashir Taghrini, a Lebanese cybersecurity expert, told MBN that the Shahid Kaveh unit has been active since 2020 and 2021. He described it as “a group with significant capabilities in hacking and sabotage operations.”
“The unit operates through several fictitious groups, including Cyber Aveng3rs, Solomon’s Soldiers and Cyber Support Front,” he said.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said her office had issued international arrest warrants for three Iranians “linked to the electronic and cyber center of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.”
She identified the three individuals as Hamid Reza Lashgarian, head of the Revolutionary Guard’s electronic and cyber center, as well as Mehdi Lashgarian and Reza Salarvand, whom she described as commanders in the Shahid Kaveh unit.
Iran has denied involvement in the attacks, accusing France of attempting to shift the blame onto foreign actors.
Europe Plans ‘Unified’ Response
The European Commission said that it was working on a “rapid and unified” response to the Iranian attacks. Commission spokesman Anouar El Anouni said the EU intended to impose additional cyber-related sanctions on Iran.
France summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday, while the French foreign minister warned that Paris could respond by taking cyber measures of its own.
French authorities point to a pattern of Iranian operations dating back to 2020, including a cyberattack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2023 and another targeting a French company specializing in display screens in 2024, during preparations for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The incident involving the sabotage of European refrigerators was preceded by at least one similar incident in the United States. In August, refrigerators stopped working in at least six stores operated by the U.S. military.
Reuters reported that Pentagon investigators were treating the malfunctions as a possible attack originating from Iran.
Water and wastewater facilities in more than 12 U.S. states were targeted in coordinated cyberattacks during July and August. Federal investigators and cybersecurity experts attributed the campaign to actors linked to Iran.
Roland Abi Najem, a Lebanese cybersecurity and artificial intelligence consultant, said that such attacks could expand as “all vital and economic sectors, including household systems, become connected to the internet.”
“There is no such thing as absolute protection against cyberattacks, but there are measures that can limit them,” he told MBN.
Adapted and transalted from the original Arabic.
